100 Years of Happiness (Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality)

We all want to be happy, but what does that mean, and how do we get there? These questions may be a popular topic of positive psychology books in recent years, but interest in the subject stretches back over a century. Distinguished authors Nathan Carlin and Donald Capps examine opinions, research studies, and insights about happiness from the 18th century through today.

100 Years of Happiness: Insights and Findings from the Experts is organized into three sections—one that explores insights from philosophers, another part that reviews study results from researchers, and a final section that casts some skepticism on the study of happiness. The authors review what the experts have found, and explore such questions as: Is happiness the goal of life? Is it possible to measure happiness? Is it possible to become happier? What is the difference between unhappiness and depression? If humankind could eliminate unhappiness from the human condition, should we? This fascinating text provides a basis for readers to develop their own conclusions, and to continue humankind’s ongoing discourse on the subject.

The Psychology of Happiness

What is happiness? Why are some people happier than others?

This new edition of The Psychology of Happiness provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of research into the nature of happiness. Major research developments have occurred since publication of the first edition in 1987 – here they are brought together for the first time, often with surprising conclusions.

Drawing on research from the disciplines of sociology, physiology and economics as well as psychology, Michael Argyle explores the nature of positive and negative emotions, and the psychological and cognitive processes involved in their generation. Accessible and wide-ranging coverage is provided on key issues such as: the measurements and study of happiness, mental and physical health; the effect of friendship, marriage and other relationships on positive moods; happiness, mental and physical health; the effects of work, employment and leisure; and the effects of money, class and education. The importance of individual personality traits such as optimism, purpose in life, internal control and having the right kind of goals is also analysed. New to this edition is additional material on national differences, the role of humour, and the effect of religion. Are some countries happier than others? This is just one of the controversial issues addressed by the author along the way.

Finally the book discusses the practical application of research in this area, such as how happiness can be enhanced, and the effects of happiness on health, altruism and sociability. This definitive and thought-provoking work will be compulsive reading for students, researchers and the interested general reader

Psychology of Happiness (Psychology of Emotions, Motivations and Actions) (Hardcover)

Recent research attests to the importance of three distinct orientations to happiness – pleasure, engagement, and meaning – which together integrate hedonic and eudaimonic approaches to the good life. This book considers the concept of meaning in life, a crucial variable for physical health and psychological adjustment in a variety of contexts. This book also reviews the current state of literature on childhood happiness, including definitional issues applying to the term happiness, neurological correlates of happiness and a discussion of the consequences of disrupted homes on childhood happiness and a discussion of potentially undesirable cognitive consequences of a happy state. The authors also review and discuss studies on humor and discuss its role in the social functioning of people with Asperger Syndrome (AS). The argument is presented that happiness is also related to one’s hope for the future, presenting evidence that positive affect or happiness is related to hope as assessed by several different measures. In addition, a term called “emotional breathing” is introduced. Physiological and psychological perspectives on the concept of coexistence of breathing and emotion is offered. The connection between the psychology of happiness and tourism is examined as well.

The Secret of Happiness: Three Thousand Years of Searching for the Good Life

The Secrets of Happiness is a philosophical inquiry into the nature of happiness.
Combining wit, warmth, and intellectual authority, this book offers us ancient wisdom for modern living. Richard Schoch shows readers how they can enrich their lives by recovering the ancient philosophical and religious traditions of happiness–and then putting them to work in their own lives today. In a journey across cultures and centuries–from the trials of Job to the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, and from Buddha’s Four Noble Truths to the ecstasy of medieval Sufi mystics–Schoch answers questions that, although fundamental to our well-being, are rarely asked: what kind of effort does it take to be happy? do you have a right to be happy? can you be happy if others are unhappy?
Although Schoch finds that there is no single answer to these questions, he argues that every strategy for happiness can be placed in one of four categories: Living for Pleasure, Conquering Desire, Transcending Reason, and Enduring Suffering. (The book is divided into these four parts.)
The one thing that these disparate strategies do share is that each takes effort. Happiness, Schoch posits, is never an end-point; it is instead “a joyful struggle.”

The Lost Art of Compassion: Discovering the Practice of Happiness in the Meeting of Buddhism and Psychology

Now in paperback, this practical guide to cultivating compassion delivers Buddhist and psychological insight right where we need it most—navigating the difficulties of our daily lives.

Compassion is often seen as a distant, altruistic ideal cultivated by saints, or as an unrealistic response of the naively kind-hearted. Seeing compassion in this way, we lose out on experiencing the transformative potential of one of our most neglected inner resources.

Dr Lorne Ladner rescues compassion from this marginalised view, showing how its practical application in our life can be a powerful force in achieving happiness. Combining the wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism and Western psychology, Ladner presents clear, effective practices for cultivating compassion in daily living.

CAN A WOMAN BE SMART, EMPOWERED, AND HAPPY ?

Happiness has become a serious business. Where twentiethcentury psychology focused on depression and illness, in the new millennium scientists have begun focusing on “positive psychology”—the study of happiness. Ariel Gore first became intrigued by this subject when she discovered that Positive Psychology was the most popular course on the Harvard campus. As she read deeper into the topic, she noticed something disturbing: everyone in this happy land was a man. Worse still, some of these new “experts” seemed hell-bent on proving that women with traditional values and breadwinning husbands—those who had made “an effort to expect less,” according to one sociologist—were more content than women with feminist values. The more she read the more she wondered: Can a woman be smart, empowered, and happy? Determined to find out, Gore began her own “study in living”— a journey into the feminine history, science, and experience of happiness.

Bluebird is a smart, no-nonsense, uplifting study of the real secret of joy, and whether it’s truly at odds with the goals of modern women.